


Play It Backwards

by idrilhadhafang



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Character Death In Chapter One, Dead Sheev Palpatine, Fixing The Skywalker Legacy One Bit At A Time, Force-Sensitive Shmi Skywalker, Gen, Jedi Shmi Skywalker, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Past Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Time Travel Fix-It, he deserves it though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: Ben is sent back to make his family’s legacy right — and he takes it.
Kudos: 11
Collections: The Darkpilot Library





	1. Ripple Effect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [slinden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slinden/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Let’s say I have a lot of time travel fics planned.

The decade doesn’t matter, but it’s years before the Occupation of Naboo, and Ben Solo’s been sent back to make things right. 

Making things right. Even though it is for himself, for his family, it’s for the good of the galaxy. And if he can spare Shmi Skywalker what’s going to happen to her — well, it’s a start. 

He knows where Palpatine is. Can just imagine him as this vulture-like black clad figure, looming over the teenage Shmi Skywalker. She’s asleep in one room, in a room where Ben’s paid enough credits for the night, and Ben can all but feel Palpatine creeping down the hallway. 

Ben is grateful in that moment for his new lightsaber. Orange. It reminds him so much of Poe, that one color. 

He intercepts Palpatine. There’s something about it that calls back to his Knight of Ren days, though this time the target he’s talking really, really deserves it. 

***

”I know who you are,” Palpatine says. “Kylo Ren.”

Ben feels a visceral chill go up his spine, all at that hated old name. A name that had once given him a sense of comfort, a sense of identity, but now just seemed repulsive to him. 

”And I know who you are,” Ben says. “Darth Sidious.” A beat. “The question is how you knew who I was."

”You could say I have a...knack for foresight,” Palpatine says. “I must say, being hung up on that one man, Poe Dameron...you seemed awfully happy kissing that _cousin_ of yours, all things considered.”

Ben’s cheeks heat up just at the unpleasant reminder. He is glad that Rey lived (though will she, in this alternate timeline?), but this...this wasn’t how he wanted to go out on. 

"I’m not doing this out of revenge,” Ben says. “I’m doing this to save others. Including my family.”

”Perhaps there is another way,” Palpatine says. "You could use my knowledge. I could keep them safe.”

For a moment, Ben almost considers it. Almost. After all, this is a different Palpatine...but then he remembers Exegol. Voices in the dark. Visions. 

”I’m afraid,” Ben says, “I’ll have to decline.”

Their lightsabers draw, and the battle begins. 

To Palpatine’s credit, he is incredibly skilled. He’s fast, and strong — it’s clear where Rey got her reflexes from. Ben’s on his toes — and it’s in a moment of desperation that he reaches out towards Palpatine, and blocks the onslaught of lightning coming at him. 

Palpatine tries to stop it. Tries to. But Force Lightning isn’t so easily stopped once it starts, and Ben watches, horrified in spite of himself, as Palpatine writhes and burns under Force Lightning. 

***

Ben buries Palpatine’s body that night. He doesn’t bother to leave a marker for it, and just as a bit of a trophy, he decides to scavenge the red lightsaber Palpatine owns. He wonders if he did the right thing — yes, Palpatine is gone, but Rey won’t exist...

He can’t meddle with the time stream that much. 

He supposes that he’ll get to that part soon enough.


	2. Generational

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben meets Shmi for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

It’s Maul who feels his master’s death on Tatooine, and Maul who feels a sort of freedom mixed with the utmost rage. Without Sidious, he doesn’t need to suffer anymore — now he can, freely, take his revenge on the galaxy. He can feel the fury, the utter fury, welling up in him — it feels, in that moment, like it’s going to eat him alive. 

It gnaws. It howls. And it demands an outlet. 

Tatooine. He must go there. Confronting the source of the disturbance — that sounds like a good place to start. 

***

The hotel seems to be a good base of operations, Ben thinks. Impulsively, he thinks of Revan and Carth looking for Bastila on Taris, and he almost laughs. He knows he has to free Shmi Skywalker now — she’s with Gardulla the Hutt, he knows that. His great-grandmother. He almost wonders what it’s like, just that. 

He heads down there. Takes the landspeeder. And after selling it, he tells the guard he seeks an audience with Gardulla. 

***

”You would buy this girl’s freedom?” Gardulla says. “Name your price.”

Ben looks over at Shmi — she’s nineteen, fragile but so very strong-willed and kind. This is the woman he knows so little about, because Uncle Luke and Mom didn’t know her at all. 

"The cost of my landspeeder,” he says. 

It’s worth seeing the look of shock on Gardulla’s face, like her eyeballs are ready to bulge out.

She accepts, though. Just Shmi, no one else. Ben wonders if he shouldn’t have sold his landspeeder, just to come back and free them all. 

***

”I don’t know your name.”

Even as Shmi and Ben head to the spaceport (Ben is determined as anything that he’s going to get off this planet as soon as possible, because whoever felt Palpatine’s death will most certainly be coming for him), Shmi turns to look at him. She’s beautiful, Ben thinks. He wonders if he gets his black hair from her — a bizarre sort of recessive trait. 

”I’m Ben,” he says. 

”Do you have a surname?” Shmi says. 

”Zordani.” It’s a hurried way of dealing with things, all things considered. He thinks of Tai, his friend at the Academy — if only Ren hadn’t killed Tai. If only Ben hadn’t made that mistake of trusting Ren. 

Force, will Ren still be around in this timeline? Ben will have to get ready to face him. 

Shmi smiles. “Nice to meet you, Ben Zordani. I’m Shmi. Shmi Skywalker.”

Ben smiles despite himself. He likes Shmi, how easily she seems to have faith in things despite her mistreatment. 

”So,” Ben says, “We need to get off-planet. Basically I’m a...Jedi. And I killed a Sith, and his apprentice isn’t going to be happy knowing I’m here.”

”Makes sense,” Shmi says. Then, “Where are we going?”

”Wherever you want. You probably haven’t seen the galaxy.”

Shmi laughs, sadly. “I think I’ve seen enough. Being shunted place to place, Master to Master. My family’s likely dead now.” 

Now that Ben thinks about it, there is something about Shmi that is...all but glowing with the Force. Had Qui-Gon known, in the original timeline? He has no idea. 

”Coruscant seems nice,” Shmi says. “I suppose I’ve never seen a planet that’s one big city.”

”Let’s go there then.”


End file.
